Gambling problems seem to be a perennial spur for drama and action in movies, and in the coming months we’re already preparing to meet Mark Wahlberg’s take on the trope in The Gambler. But for an even tougher version, here comes Jason Statham in his latest thriller, Wild Card.
Statham plays Nick Wild (we really hope no-one says he’s such a card, as the idea of him playing cards as part of his betting addiction is already making the Pun-O-Meter smoke and rattle), a Las Vegas bodyguard with a lethally particular set of skills and some real money issues.
But when his best friend is beaten up by a thug, our anti-hero takes matters into his own fists and strikes back, only to discover the assailant is the son of a powerful mob boss. Thus Nick is plunged, shaved bonce first, into the criminal underworld, menaced by enforcers who want his scalp for their gangster bosses.
Statham’s old Expendables 2/The Mechanic director Simon West is behind the camera for this one, working from a script by screenwriting legend William Goldman (Wild Card is a second attempt at 1986's disastrous Burt Reynolds vehicle Heat). With Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia, Dominik García-Lorido, Anne Heche, Sofia Vergara, Max Casella, Jason Alexander, Hope Davis and Stanley Tucci all aboard, Wild Card hits US screens on January 30, but has yet to announce a UK date.